Conventional packaging design includes many variations in box or carton formation. Many product boxes are formed from one-piece, pre-cut blanks which permits ease of assembly. By being one piece, parts loss and parts inventory mismatches are avoided. To be commercially feasible for packaging, one-piece box designs generally require the use of an adhesive on one or more panels to permit box set-up (assembly). A box design that does not need an adhesive for complete construction generally requires extra panels and folding steps, and accordingly uses a greater amount of material. Such a box may lack the strength of a box sealed with an adhesive.
Some variations in box design utilize a header card construction, which serves the dual purpose of allowing the box to be hung from a display hook and also provides point of purchase space for advertising, display or promotional material relating to the product that is within the box. On some current designs the header card is pre-formed as a part of the one-piece construction. In other designs the header card can be attached to the box after it is formed.
Most current box designs utilize either complicated folding patterns or require the use of an adhesive to seal the box together. Applying an adhesive to a portion of the box entails an extra step in the manufacture of the box and when such boxes are produced in quantity, can involve a substantial expense. If such adhesive-employing boxes are prepared well in advance of use, they require substantial storage space and are impractical to ship.
Examples of variations in box design are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. issued to Brown 3,946,936, Smith 3,814,303, Cote 3,625,411, Johnson 3,985,232, and Einson 1,956,642.
The U.S. Pat. No. to Brown 3,946,936 shows a one-piece paperboard box with a header card and requires an adhesive to complete its assembly. The Smith U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,303 shows another box design utilizing a header card and also requires the use of an adhesive. The Cote U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,411 discloses a tube for packaging items of differing dimensions having an internal bracing structure. The Cote box also requires the use of an adhesive for proper set-up. The U.S. Pat. No. to Johnson 3,985,232 discloses a box formed of a one-piece construction having a header card which extends above the top of the box and to the side of the box. The Johnson device also has two tuck flaps and requires an adhesive to assemble. The Einson U.S. Pat. No. 1,956,642 shows a carton for dispensing individual merchandise items formed from a single blank and also requiring an adhesive.
There is a need for a packaging box or carton capable of suitably strong construction and formed of a one-piece blank which does not utilize an adhesive. There is further need for such a box which has a header card formed as an integral part thereof, and is able to be constructed in a minimum number of steps, using a relatively small amount of materials.